If stress were a sport, high schoolers would be considered the gold medal champions. It seems like every time I cross an academic finish line another marathon throws itself in my path. Some might say, “well, that’s life,” but for a high school student it is exhausting. It seems to be never ending, as if the finish line is constantly out of reach. The pressure to get an A on every assignment, an 100 on every test, and an A plus on every project feels like the controlling factor that guides all of my actions. This isn’t just regarding school but exists in my personal life, as well.
From talking to my peers, it is clear I am not alone in the overwhelming feeling of needing to succeed in order to feel worthy, with the unspoken condition of getting As. Whether I’m walking through the hallways or sitting in class as a new assignment is announced, the same questions always surface. Hands shoot up before the teacher can even finish explaining to ask, “how much of my grade will this be worth?” “Do I have to do this if it’s not going in the grade book?” “How many points is this worth?” “Are there retakes?” The most shocking part of these incessant comments and questions is that they expose the blatant disrespect that students show to teachers when they take certain tasks more seriously than others if grades are involved.
The high school students’ aim is to simply get an A on any given task and then move onto the next. When this plan is threatened by a new, uncertain task being introduced, the teenage mind receives a signal of anxiety. For me, the fear of failure steers the outcome of my academic performance to the point where I lose sleep at night thinking about my grades. By refocusing this energy and brain power to learning for the sake of learning and not just for a grade, peace of mind can be found.
From an educator’s perspective, tests and assessments are used to measure progress and understanding. From a student’s perspective, however, anything less than an A often feels like a failure. To be completely honest, entering the second semester of my sophomore year, being nearly halfway through my high school educational journey, I have a new-found appreciation for what it truly means to do work for the sake of learning and not solely for the purpose of achieving a good grade.
When one studies simply by memorizing something for the given time necessary to perform well and then throws it to the back of their mind to be lost forever, the learning process is destroyed. For someone with poor recollection abilities, I have been negatively affected by this thought process and am acutely aware that many of my peers share this same ideology.
By pursuing a comprehensive understanding of core concepts, students will be more likely to have key terms, dates, and names engraved in their minds for easier recall. This type of education-forward learning strategy also allows for connections to be made across topics.
Ironically, I only realized that grades are the least important part of learning after receiving a poor test score. Despite studying for hours, my focus on the result prevented me from truly understanding the core concepts.
As I embark on my journey to the second half of high school, I have set a personal goal to stray away from striving for perfection, and instead to focus on the true meaning of school and education: to gain long term knowledge that can be carried with you for the rest of your life. It sounds different to hear a teacher say, “don’t worry about your grades, just focus on learning the material,” than to have me stand before you and say I have the same worries and aspirations that you do to do well in my future.
In spite of my fear of failure and paralyzing anxiety, I am endeavoring to redefine success as growth, understanding, and progress rather than a single letter etched in pen on a sheet of paper. It is essential to stop chasing the finish line and start appreciating the learning that happens along the way.
